Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-25

now or heretofore, but to show that Mr.
| Randall's presence in Washington as
member of Congress from Philadelphia is
| impossible without such sction. A body
of Republicans make district for Mr..
Randall, political opponent, by gerry
Wandering, in an extreme and ep-
psrently inexcusable fashion, to
| further some end of their own.
! If they have now changed their minds
and wish to send 2 solid delegation Of
! Philadelphia Republicans they will IN
/ doubtedly do so. Mr.. Randall is a Dem
! OCratIc representative in Washington from
Philadelphia by the gracious permission
! Of Republicans in Harrisburg. There is
room for difference OF opinion on most
questions, but absolutely none On this
| point, and each man, be he Democrat or
! r republican, Will draw his conclusions
| therefrom according TO the light that is in
| him.
THE SCHEME OF GERRYMANDER.
Philadelphia Record
! There is a partisan cant which is, if
| possible, more revolving than the par
tlsan iniquity which it seeks to cover
with speciOus false pretenses. When
| thorough paced partisans az Harrisburg
| boast of their moderation and OF a cheer
full readiness to deal fairly with political
! opponents their profession may well eX
cite suspicion that they contemplate q
/ political wrong of more than usual
enormity. This suspicion is fully justi-
! fed by the gerrymsndering appOrtion-
ment scheme which has been agreed upon
| by the Republican ring-leaders in the
| Legislature. This appOrtiOnment would
give the Democrats OF the interior of
| Pennsylvania but seven Congress districts
| in order to confer g. district in Philadel-
phia on Mr.. Randall. The remaining
twenty districts as proposed would surely
elect Republicans.
The shameful character of this gerry
Wandering job can be st understood by
a narration Of some of its details. Berks
county, with it's large Democratic pOpu
lation, has been a separate congress dis
| trict from the foundation of the govern
ment; but, in order to stife the voice of
great Democratic constituency, Lehigh
county, with its large population, has been
attached to Berks, which would make
district with 1873, $3.50 inhabitants. or more
than 10000 above the ratio. While it
would require 1873, 566 inhabitants in
Berks and Lehigh for q congress district,
but 1879, 447 inhabitants would be required
Schuylkill county. These filures elo-
guently describe the character of this Job
When it comes to votes the fraud is
shown in a still more garlng light. Il
LsncGsterC unity in 1886 the total vote
for Congress was q, 73l, and in SChuyl-
klll county the total vote was 81, 1912. The
total vote of Barks and Lehigh in 1886
was sc, 500. In 1886 the total vote of
Berks county was % ,476; or greater than
That of SChuylkill county, and the vote IN
Berks md Lehigh was nearly do IDLE that
of SChuykill. But Lehigh is to be st
taChed to BeTks in Order to smother TO-,
900 Democratic votes, while Scbuylkill is
to be permitted 10 remain separate dis
triCt so that Hen. Charles n. Brumm can
be sent to Congress. Other details of
this proposed act of Democratic dis
reimbursement are still more fraudulent.
The contemplated gerrym8nder of the
districts Of Philadelphia would be worse
even than that of the Interior. In the dis
trict carved out for Mr.. Randall by his
Obliging Republican friends the whole
population is I06 936s or nearly $4,000
below the ratio for q member of Con-
gress. In order that this wrong may be
accomplished still greater wrong is
proposed in the appOTtIOnment of Pnila-
delphia. As 8 set-Off to Randall's dis
trict (t5e Third, the Fourth would have
q population of 1872, 1875 and total vote
of So, les. The population in this dis
triCt would be 81, 423 greater than that of
the Third, and the Reput lican majority
would he nearly as large as was the whole
Democratic vote cast for Randall in 1886.
| Is it easy TO conceive of a more fragrant
violation Of the rights of representation
than that contemplated by this distribu-
! ton Of Congress districts in Philadel-
phia?
The authors of this scheme demurely
! complain that they are charged with an
attempt to gerrymander, whereas their
honest aim is to give the 10000 Demo-
Gratis Of Philadelphia due representation;
and they say that their worthy purpose
"cannot be obscured by opprobrious cpl
! thets." No language of opprobrium could
! do Justice to this job and its authors. The
! bill speaks for itself. 1t would violate
every principle OF apportionment and
every just right of equal representation.
| The districts would not be compact and
would not be Gas nearly equal in pOpula-
ton as may be-" In some districts the
population would be far below the ratio,
and in others far above 1.-THE difference
! III pOpuldLlOu III SOLlO 1uSldICOS NOuIU NC
more than $4,000.
Such an superintendent would be q
monster Of frsud-the worst deformity of
gerrymander ever conceived in the his
tory of partisan legislation. In the in
terror the Democrats are to be disfran-
chised in order to compensate the Repub-
iican authors of the scheme for making a
district for Mr.. Randall. In Philadelphia
both no rfioS yuOOId no 6pfrSn6nd nv N
apportionment which would require 1922
435 inhabitants and 80, l65 voters for 3
M mber of Congress in one district, and
IO8 938 inhabitants and 1880 voters to
elect member of Congress in another
district. The authors of this bill have
entire power to make it law, and that
ought TO content them. They cannot ex-
pect to deceive any intelligent man in the
commonwealth with regard to its Infa-
nous character.